Next up on the EPM Podcast we get our collective jit on as Detroit’s OktoRed gives us a full Motor City blast with his own OktoRed and Cocky Balboa productions mixed up with his own re-works of Franki Juncaj (aka DJ 3000), Katy B, I:Cube, Gauche Kids and the hip hop classic Wu Tang Clan ‘Aint Nothin’ To Fuck Wit’.

OktoRed, hailing from Detroit MI, has been gaining some real momentum of late. As one of Beatportal’s “Artists To Watch 2012”, and coming off his first YoSucka! imprint, ‘The Future Sounds of 8 Mile’ he wanted to showcase his ability to transcend from his kind, gentle side, to a more rough, dark side with the release of ‘Gemini 1 EP’ released on 4th May and the forthcoming ‘Gemini 2 EP’.

OktoRed continues a long lineage of Detroit Electronic Music. Limitless, genre expanding and intelligent, it can be said that this artist has pushed his music to project feeling. It is hard to define his genre and that would just be too limiting, as OktoRed morphs between indiscriminate tempo future bass, defined as Detroit infused techno, borrowing ideas from moombahton, dubstep, juke, footwork and ghetto tech.

A gun to the stomach by a typical Detroit stick up thug flashed his musical life before him, right before he gave up all the cash in his pocket, and his life was spared. He remembered his time as a kid, only 12 years old, teaching himself guitar while following the Detroit techno, ghetto tech and jungle scene. Over the next few years visions of gear, often given to him by older cats in the industry became realities, as he collected an old Koss drum machine, Fender Rhodes piano, various synths, and drum machines, coupled with a Roland MC 500 sequencer. At this point his tools would then be worked to all hours of the morning. Flash forward to the cold metal of a handgun, in his gut, he realized that his day gig was NOT the direction he needed to go in life and began working past sleep deprivation to give birth to tracks that have become Detroit underground staples. He had no choice but to make his grimy and dark, underground bass symphonies pound through the bodies on dance floors, laying them out one by one and turning them into frenzied fans.

He is currently releasing tracks on the YoSucka! Imprint, working on music that is sometimes inspired by current events. For instance, the track ‘How Many Moons’ was made in response to the riots in London of 2011. Overburdened by the thoughts of how people can burn down their own neighbourhood forced him to react in his own musical way. Software synthesizers, Ableton Live and esoteric tracker programs come under his command as he continues to produce, long after you’ve gone to bed and entered the deepest parts of slumber.


Q&A with OktoRed

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?
I just wanted to showcase some of my current and upcoming releases from YoSucka! Music, Generation Bass and Motech Records. All of the songs are originals or edits made for personal use by myself. The songs in this mix are more to the smoother side of my production.

2. How would you begin to describe your style?
My style is all over the place. I like to mix it up as much as possible. I guess one consistent pattern from track to track is that I don't spend time over producing things. I like a more organic natural feel to a lot of my music. Lots of swing and lots of melody.

3. Your work although influenced by Detroit, also sounds from somewhere else. How has the fabled 7th City impacted on you as a producer and DJ?
Growing up we had a lot of good music on the radio that opened my mind and ears up to a lot of stuff I wasn't getting from friends and other places. We had lots of ghetto-tech and good dance music on the radio for most of my formative years. When the internet came around a little later, I got to experience lots of stuff that wasn't being played anywhere around here. I like to try to take from everything I listen to without being a copycat.

4. How has working with Brian Gillespie, one of the unsung heroes of the Detroit electro and ghetto tek story, helped you to envisage your work as an artist?
Working with Brian has been amazing. His knowledge has been a real asset and his ear for good music is the most valuable thing I've had in my corner in a long time. Also, I got to realise a dream of mine by releasing some new ghetto-tech/juke stuff with him on Juke Trax under the Cocky Balboa alias. His business knowledge and connection to the global dance scene has really helped in getting my music to people who would have otherwise never known of me.

5. How do you work in the studio? Do ideas come to fruition quickly or do you tinker with lots of ideas at the same time, going back and forth until one clicks and you focus on it?
I constantly work on music. Literally at least 6-10 hours a day so I have a bunch of different approaches. I like it best when I can sit and write and record a song in a few hours. I just let it flow on its own. If I get stuck I usually just delete everything and start from scratch. I just go be ear mostly. If it makes sense to me then I pursue it.

6. Which modern day producers currently impress you?
I really like Diplo’s stuff a lot. He seems to be all over the place but consistently good on the board. I recently found out about Boddika and lost my mind. It’s very simple sounding stuff that has so much feeling behind it.

7. What plans do you currently have for your own music productions?
Right now we are just working on getting out some new stuff. I’d like to keep everything different from release to release. Different tempos and feels. Once again, I just don't want to get pigeonholed into a one sound music career.

8. Where do you play out these days? Any plans to come to Europe?
I'm doing a bi-weekly live webcast with 8EN, Jawa and Brian Gillespie on the Everyday Sucka Webcast. I do visuals at a bar in the Corktown area in Detroit called "The Works" for Calico and Matt Clarke for their weekly Bass Down Low parties. I’m up to playing anywhere I can right now, but I mainly focus on production over doing live shows. I’m also working on starting up a weekly live radio show on TapDetroit.com.

9. Please give us your top 10 all-time favourite Detroit tracks:

in no particular order…
DJ Rolando – ‘Knights of the Jaguar’
A Number of Names – ‘Shari Vari’
Starski and Clutch – ‘Triple Gold’
Subject No001 – ‘Black Lives’
Drexciya – ‘You Don't Know’
Ectomorph – ‘Insert Another Data Disc’
Inner City – ‘Good Life’
Aaron Carl – ‘Down’
Rhythim Is Rhythim – ‘Strings of Life’
Jeff Mills – ‘The Extremist’

Next up on the EPM Podcast we dust off the mirror ball as Nu Disco maestro Justin Winks (Casio Social Club) gives us a personalised guided tour of the sound of Mullet Records. Featuring plenty of 808 rhythms, arpeggiated synths and disco that swings from pop to cosmic Mr. Winks segues and presents the sound of his own label like no one else. From his own Casio Social Club productions to Tad Wily, Baxter, Satin Jackets, Drop Out Orchestra and Russian pop sensations Tesla Boy we find the spirit of disco-funk alive and kicking, albeit with a rather dubious haircut!

Justin grew-up on a diet of Soul, Funk, Disco, New Wave and early Hip-Hop, which then progressed to Electro-Funk, Chicago House and Detroit Techno. He took to the wheels-of-steel at the tender age of 15 and since those early days has trotted around the globe spinning his trademark Nu-Disco sound. As a DJ, Justin has been fortunate enough to play in the super clubs of the UK such as Ministry Of Sound to the beach parties of sunny Ibiza.

His production work has seen him collaborate with the likes of Danny Howells, Victor Simonelli, Supersonic Lovers, Jake Island, Drop Out Orchestra, Tad Wily & Tesla Boy. And over the past couple of years his productions have received huge support from dance music maestros Aeroplane, Grum, Crazy P, Faze Action and Groove Armada… and if that wasn’t enough, his recent ‘Rock the Discotheque’ track hit the No.1 spot on both Juno and Traxsource.

By day, Justin owns and runs his own record label - Mullet Records. Since Mullet's doors opened in 2008, it has established itself as one of the leading Nu-Disco labels and scored a plethora of Top 10 hits on the relevant download stores. In the past four years Justin has signed many a like-minded artist including The Diogenes Club, Sare Havlicek, Fatback 4Way, Baxter, ODahl, LDA, Dabeull, Estate, Nuvo Rich, The Artificial Arm, Solila, Satin Jackets, Drop Out Orchestra, Lou Teti, DATO, Elijah Collins, Tad Wily, Chordashian and Russian 3-piece sensation Tesla Boy!


Q&A with Justin Winks (Casio Social Club)

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?
The Casio Social Club sound represents the very essence of my label, Mullet Records. Our label motto is “Mullet Records… always joining the dots between Soul, Funk, Disco, Boogie, House and New Wave”, and I feel this mix of CSC productions and remixes does exactly that.

2. What made you decide to set up Mullet Records in 2008? How has the reaction been to the label so far?
Initially, purely as an outlet for my own productions but then the A&R man inside me soon kicked in and within 10 releases or so I was signing likeminded artists from around the globe. The reaction to Mullet has been nothing short of incredible, there’s so much love out there for our music, as I feel it stirs peoples’ memories and immediately sends people back to a happy time.

3. You also used to run the Void label in the 90s, releasing classic electronic and techno releases from the likes of Future Beat Alliance, Yunx, Mode-M, Total Science and more. Do you still engage in the world of techno?
Indeed I did. I set-up Void Records in ’96 mainly to release my friend and housemate at the time, Matthew Puffett’s (Future Beat Alliance) productions. Matt and I went to the same School and we ended up moving into the same house in Cowley (Oxford) together… in-fact we both moved out of our parents houses at the same time and moved into our ‘Florence Park’ dwelling, which then soon became the weekend ‘session house’, that then became the weekend and week day ‘session house’ haha. I was DJing and promoting parties and Matt was busy making beats in his bedroom/studio set-up. It was a great time for us both and we look back on those times with very fond memories. I’d always admired Matt’s production skills, he had no formal training at all but seemed to take to it like a duck to water but was struggling to get his music out there and signed. So I decided to create a label for him to release his music on, which then quickly progressed to releasing music by fellow likeminded artists like Yunk and also best mates and fellow Oxford boys Total Science.

4. When you first started DJing at 15, what records were featuring in your sets?
The mid 80s and the 80s in general were musically such an amazing time. I started buying vinyl when I was 9 or 10, so by the time I was 15 I’d got quite a collection together that mainly consisted of Soul, Funk, Electro-Funk, Boogie, Hip-Hop, Jazz and early House and along with my school buddies we formed a sound system called The Underground Movement. By the mid to late 80s The Underground movement had got pretty popular and we were throwing parties at our local Youth Centre, which then progressed to our first night club bookings and so on. We were so young at the time but totally fearless as the music that we were playing was so exciting and this could have been anything from Hip-Hop anthems like ‘Mantronix – King of the Beats’, to anything by ‘Soul 2 Soul’, to early Acid House tracks like ‘Nitro Deluxe – Let’s Get Brutal’ to ‘Jolly Roger’s – Acid Man’. We played and love it all.

5. As the label A&R of Mullet Records, what criteria do tracks need to meet for you to take them on?
Um an interesting question. In general I’d say that ‘Dance Music’ is very ‘bass-line’ driven and I’ve always been a big fan of the simplicity of ‘bass-line’ driven Dance Music. I guess my earliest experience of pure ‘drum and bass’ driven music was the Electro-Funk sounds of the early 80’s. Track’s like ‘Newcleus – Jam On It’ had it all… clean and very precise drum machine sounds accompanied by an irresistible bass-line groove with spacey pads and synth stabs that seemed to open up channels of ‘feeling’ in my mind that had I hadn’t felt from music before. Of course the sound of Dance Music has moved on from that era but I still look for traces of that early sound in the music I sign. Above all else, the music I sign has to touch the soul and make you feel uplifted whilst also making you wanna swing your pants ‘n groove in either your arm chair or dance floor!

6. Which modern day producers currently impress you?
There are so so many, but if I had to name one I think it would be Matthew Williams aka the Diogenes Club. I just simply adore Matt’s sound and also his attitude to the music business too. What Matt achieves on a clunky old PC and Cubase puts many slick Mac/Logic users to shame. Matt keeps it real and his sound is the perfect fusion of pretty much all the music that has touched my heart over the years. I must however also mention bands like Crazy P that are phenomenal at ‘everything’ from production to just rocking it as a band onstage. And in the same breath I must quickly mention new Mullet signing’s ‘Bastian’s Happy Flight’ – a bunch of bright-eyed Perth based dudes that are extremely talented and destined for great things in the 2012.

7. Do you think the resurgence of ‘nu-disco’ has opened up people to playing older tracks, lost oddities and more avant-garde dance music alongside current productions? Or was the dreaded word ‘eclecticism’ always there?
Absolutely 100% yes. I think it’s fair to say the Nu-Disco scene encapsulates Boogie, Disco, Early House and pretty anything else in-between. In-fact I think it’s fair to say that the genre ‘Nu-Disco’ stands for anything that sounds like it was made or influenced by Dance Music made from the late 70s to late 80s. Now I know that’s a whole heap of music but that’s what you can hear if you go to a Nu-Disco club night. Over the Spring and Summer I’ll be regularly DJing at a night called Slide up on the Brixton Clubhouse roof terrace and the premise behind that night is exactly that… to have an open/ freestyle and eclectic music policy with DJs like Dimitri from Paris, Grandmaster Flash, Andrew Weatherall and Greg Wilson all headlining. Thankfully we are beginning to see a shift from the monotony of Tech and Mainroom House in our clubs and people are beginning to want to experience the feeling of being uplifted and happy again on the dancefloor.

9. What plans do you currently have for your own music productions?
Well production wise I have two sides. I’ve started producing House under my real name ‘Justin Winks’ and will continue to produce all my Boogie inspired productions as Casio Social Club. By the years end, my aim is to release a couple more Justin Winks late 80s early 90s House sounding EPs and also finally finish my debut Casio Social Club album too.

Also I’ve just completed a remix for Bastian’s Happy Flight that will be out on Mullet in the coming weeks and I’m just in the middle of a rather cool collab with Elijah Collins too.

9. Please give us your top 10 all-time favourite 80s Boogie tracks:
There really are so many but here’s a few that spring to mind.

1. Toney Lee – Reach Up
2. Aleem – Release Yourself
3. Sharon Red – Never Give You Up
4. Tyrone Brunson – The Smurf
5. Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King – Love Come Down
6. Xena – On The Upside
7. D-Train – You’re The One For Me
8. David Joseph – You Can’t Hide (You’re Love From Me)
9. Shalamar – There It Is
10. Surface – Falling In Love

Next up on the EPM Podcast we welcome a lady whose techno oozes soul and depth as Dutch DJ/producer Estroe takes us on an atmospheric and emotional journey through EevoNext’s label catalogue. Featuring the subtle and melodic depths that the label so often represents Estroe takes us on a textured ride through the label’s history as Dan Grain, Terrace, Justin Berkovi, Duplex, The Moderator, Sounds Conversions, Art Bleek and Estroe herself blend into an ethereal, nocturnal mix.

Together with the likes of Anja Schneider, Mistress Barbara and Monika Kruse, Estroe belongs to an elite club of female DJs that made it to the top. Born in Zutphen as Esther Roozendaal, raised near Amsterdam and currently living in Rotterdam, she has been DJing since 1998.

Whether it’s behind the turntables of the famous Fuse club in Brussels, Watergate in Berlin or an underground club in Romania, Estroe knows how to tune in and drop the right beats. She likes to play versatile, techno infused sets with room for deep undercurrents as well as pure dancefloor work. Her style is warm, subtle but at the same time very energetic.

Things really took off when Estroe started producing her own tracks back in 2003. In hindsight it was an unconscious response to the skull breaking beats of those days. "I missed the soul in much techno back then and felt the need to make something myself." She then learned everything there was to know about hard- and software.

In her first productions Estroe went back to the early days of Detroit techno. Back when people like Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and the The Black Dog found the soul in their machines. With her sophisticated, warm and elegant style she soon appeared on the radar of DJs like Laurent Garnier, Ripperton and John Digweed. The latter was blown away by Estroe's minimalist masterpiece ‘Driven’ and promptly asked her for a remix on his Bedrock label. Another strong supporter is techno don Dave Clarke who has booked her for his White Noise parties on more than one occasion.

In 2009 she released her debut album ‘Elemental Assets’ (Connaisseur) which featured Miss Kittin on vocals and recently Estroe has been rediscovering the darker sides of techno in her DJ sets, something which will no doubt translate in her future productions.

With her ability to mould sounds into beautiful shapes, Estroe has become an in demand remixer in recent years. Some of her best work was done for others, like Tim Wolff, Art Bleek and Rocco Caine, whose Fathorn 50 made it to M.A.N.D.Y.'s ‘Body Language’ compilation.

Together with Stefan ‘Terrace’ Robbers, Estroe runs EevoNext (the next generation of Eevo Lute Muzique) one of the oldest dance labels in the Netherlands, spanning over twenty years of Dutch techno. EevoNext releases classics from the Dutch techno vaults but also breaks new talent. That’s where Estroe comes in. “I like to scout and coach new talent”, she admits. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know the pitfalls.”

Another promising project is Estafête, a ‘girls only DJ team’ consisting of Monica Electronica, Lin and Estroe. “No I’m not a fanatic feminist but I do miss the femininity in the DJ world sometimes”, she states. It’s not only more fun with two other women behind the mixer, it’s also very inspiring.” With Estafête we constantly challenge each other, which translates in better DJ sets.”

With a filled agenda and an inbox full of remix requests, chances are high you’ll be dancing to an Estroe tune this weekend. Asked if she has any regrets since she gave up her day job years ago, she fiercely shakes her head. “This is what I always wanted: to make good music and to play it out."



Q&A with Estroe

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?

I wanted to pick the tracks that I didn’t use before in other EevoNext-only mixes and wanted to give some attention to the last releases. But it had to fit in the flow and had to be mixable. It’s always difficult to make a special EevoNext mix because of the tempo and style differences and because all the tracks are melodic. But of course they are also a selection of my personal taste.

2. How did you come to be running EevoNext alongside Stefan Robbers? Were you already a long time fan of Eevo Lute?

To be honest I wasn’t a long time fan of Eevo Lute, I have bought some of the older stuff but I started DJing in 97/98 so I wasn’t really familiar with the early works. I remember that I liked Stefan’s (Terrace) music on FWD: Stefan and I knew each other from walking around in the same scene and at one point we got to know each other better and he asked my help with modernising the label somewhat. That’s when we started EevoNext.

3. In your own productions you stated that you like to target peoples’ ‘emotional spot’. Do you feel the same way about your DJing?

In DJing it’s more about sharing, I like to share what I find good music and I like to present it in a way that builds up tension. When I say ‘I want to take people on a journey’ it sounds so cliché but in a way it’s true. I’m in my happy element when I see a crowd in unity because they are all enjoying the same thing and forgetting about their daily sorrows. But music is always emotional in my opinion so in that way DJing is also about hitting an emotional spot.

4. How did the challenge of making your debut album ‘Elemental Assets’ (2009) compare to making an EP release?

Working on an album takes so much more time! I’m not really a conceptual worker, I make what comes out of me and for an EP I make a selection with the label that wants to sign it. For the album I had to think more about artwork, remixers, singers and it had to be a consistent package so that was a long process.

5. What qualities are you looking for when signing new music or artists to EevoNext?

Originality, a good balance between old and new sounds and a certain dedication and presentation by the artist. But the style can vary from ambient to techno as long as it’s good. For 2012 we already made a strategy with the artists we signed so we are a bit laidback with demos at the moment.

6. As one third of Estafête, a ‘girls only DJ team’ consisting of Monica Electronica, Lin and yourself you say that you miss the femininity in the DJ world sometimes. How does this female DJ tag team differ from your normal DJ experiences and are the reactions from men and women different in any way?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the world’s biggest feminist, I’ve always liked the dance scene to work in and have fun with my male colleagues. But there are situations when it’s nice that you work together with women. To share experiences about that cocky promoter, or simply discuss what to wear to a gig. ☺ The team differs from my solo experience in music choice. With Estafete I play a little less deep, more party. And solo I’m a bit reserved but with the three of us I loosen up more. The reactions from men and women are not far away from each other in my opinion although I have the impression that women like it slightly more, they just find it cool to see three DJ women working together. Men are more visually and focused about the technique so I get questions after our set about how we work.

7. Apparently you are completely self-taught on software production and now even give workshops on Ableton. How important was it for you to develop your production skills from scratch?

That was just a combination between how things went and my character. I was interested in the question whether or not I would be able to produce something. It was a challenge for me to find things out and the first year I was just fascinated by all the sounds that came out of the keyboard and plugins. Luckily I started producing when digital producing just came up so I didn’t have to invest a lot of money in studio equipment, a good computer, keyboard and sequencer helped me start up quite easily.

I did spent time in the studio with others and did get some explanation about Cubase, soundcards and all technical stuff and I always had people who I could ask questions when problems arose. But I realised that it’s better to just try and learn from errors. When Ableton Live came out it all become much easier for me, suddenly I was able to work faster and I finished some tracks that were signed by labels.

What’s important to me is that I can say that I make my music myself, it’s really a reflection from what I am and what I have to say. It wouldn’t be fun to have success with something someone else produced would it? At least not for me. About Ableton workshops: I’m not the technique nerd that explains thoroughly how a filter works but I do like to explain the creative process, how to arrange a track, how to do a remix, or how to create deepness, tension. And I found out that I prefer to explain that in a more intimate way so I started giving private lessons.

8. From the outside the Dutch dance music scene looks to be in a very healthy state – from the underground vanguard like yourselves, Clone, Rush Hour, Delsin etc to the more commercial side like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Fedde Le Grande and so forth. Is this the case?

Yes, production wise we are doing well, Dutch music is one of the largest export products for Holland I’ve heard. But for people like ourselves, trying to bring good quality music for a small niche it’s very difficult. If we weren’t so idealistic and determined we would have stopped with the label, we don’t earn any money with it (also the illegal downloads doesn’t help). As a producer and DJ I have to earn my paycheck by getting gigs but the recession in Europe is very noticeable. It’s almost impossible to live from music only.

9. What plans do you currently have for your music production?

Nothing special, just to improve myself, I am enjoying remixing a lot but have to focus more on my own productions too. Furthermore I would like to become a Certified Ableton trainer so I hope to develop in that direction soon.

10. Please give us your top 10 all-time favourite Dutch techno tracks:
(In no order)

Speedy J – G-Spot (album)
Steve Rachmad – Secret lives of machines (album)
Quazar – Cycle drops
Gerd – Arkest’s Blaze
Stefan Robbers – Pathfinder
Duplex – Motion Blur
Joris Voorn – Let’s go juno
Egbert – This feels new
Jerome – Overtones
Gideon – Continental Flight
Dexter – I don’t care (electro but one of my favourites so…)



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For more information about EPM’s digital distribution and other services:
http://www.epm-music.com/digital-distribution/why-epm.html

Following the Godfather of techno, Juan Atkinsʼ Podcast, EPM book-end their 10th year with a special EPM 10 mix from Oliver Way. Showcasing all the artists featured exclusively on this year’s EPM 10 compilation we get new electronic funk, techno punch, house majesty and electro evangelism from such esteemed artists as Alexander Robotnick, Dirt Crew, Marco Passarani, Marius, Robert Hood, Orlando Voorn, James Ruskin, Mark Broom, Sandwell District, Detroit Grand Pubahs, Radioactive Man and Billy Nasty. Here’s to the next 10 years...!


Q&A with EPMʼs Oliver Way, Melle Boels & Jonas Stone

1. EPM 10 marks ten years in the music business for EPM. What’s the secret to making it this far?

Jonas: It’s been tough and there have been times when we nearly didn’t make it if I’m honest. We’ve seen a lot of changes in the music business since we started and a lot of good people and labels have fallen by. A big change for us was when Melle Boels came on board and had the vision in 2003 to set up EPM as a digital distribution company. That side has built up over the years to become our core business. Melle has really driven the company in that respect and deserves every credit into turning EPM into a company with a global vision and reach as we now have offices in London, Maastricht and Berlin. Finally after 10 years we feel that we are in a really strong position which is why we have also set up our own label and rights management / publishing side to the business.

2. How did EPM start?

Jonas: I worked with Oliver Way at Phuture Trax and by January 2001 we decided to set up our own thing with myself running the PR side and Oliver handling DJ bookings and artist management. Oliver was already representing artists like Freddy Fresh, Frankie Bones, Robert Hood and other DJs and I was doing PR for labels like Tresor, Eskimo, Music Man, Novamute and events such as Dedbeat and Homelands. There was no other plan other than doing it for ourselves and working with artists and labels we wanted to work with. It was great to be able to steer our own ship and take more control of our own destiny.

3. EPM 10 features very highly respected artists across the fields of techno, house, electro and electronica. How did you persuade them to come on board?

Oliver: We approached producers that we work with closely, and of course like their music. We persuaded them, as they were willing to show the support for EPM, as we have given them over the years. There are so many others we would have liked to have had tracks from but we wanted to keep it to 10 tracks from 10 artists to represent the 10 years. We also wanted to cover as many styles of dance music on the compilation as possible - we managed to get house, techno, electro and some of their sub genres.

4. What's changed in 10 years of promoting music?

Jonas: Well the answer pretty much hinges on one word – digital! The digital revolution has changed the game in almost every aspect. From promotion to sales, DJing and live shows technology has been the driving force of change. We are still adapting to the on going changes and that’s what you have to do to survive. The geeks have inherited the earth! The lead in times for club and radio promo have shortened, piracy is a major issue for every label and we live in a very immediate society where people want to read and then click and listen/buy. There are still a lot of underlying aspects that remain the same like building up good contacts, pitching features and so on. Also everything is done by email, hardly anyone speaks on the phone these days but that personal contact is still important.

5. What plans do you have for the EPM label in 2012?

Oliver: We have 5 new albums already scheduled from Kristian Heikkla (one half of Kristian & Christian from Thomas Heckmanʼs AFU label), The Third Man (who has also recorded for Kirk Degiorgioʼs label A.R.T and Ai), Paul Mac (Stimulus & Hardgroove), plus a new album project from Lee J Malcolm called ‘Terrestial’. There is also a new single from Carl Taylor and his imminent new album ʻTrue Faithʼ coming in January. Besides that I am working with Luis Martinez on his debut album. Not sure if we can get that all out for 2012 but there is so much great music coming in.

6. How did the EPM 10 parties go this year?

Jonas: The 10th birthday party at fabric in February was one of the highlights of my life. To be able to celebrate that milestone with Robert Hood, Orlando Voorn, Detroit Grand Pubahs and Kone-R packing out Room 2 in the best club in the world was mind-blowing. I remember half way through the night realizing I was grinning from ear to ear. I almost had to pinch myself; it was a real dream come true. One of life’s pure gold moments, I will never forget it.
Oliver: The Panorama Bar was also, hhmm....epic. An incredible night / day with Robert Hood doing a special set under his Floorplan moniker, Marco Passarani and Orlando Voorn. Anyone that’s been to Berghain / Panorama Bar will know how special that place is, and to have your own room in there was something dreams are made of (for me anyway), lots of people we work with and friends came out to support us. Then of course there were the 2 conferences with Sonar & the Amsterdam Dance Event. During Sonar we had the club Nitsa with RadioNasty (Radioactive Man & Billy Nasty) doing their first ever set, plus the double album launch with Robert Hood’s ‘Omega: Alive’ album and our own debut album on EPM Music ‘Folded Spaces’ by Lee J Malcolm who played live that evening. Again a very special night and a very special location. I love going to Nitsa, there is always such a fantastic atmosphere in there. Barcelona is my favourite city and to get to do a party in one of my favourite clubs is something I feel very lucky to have done. Finally this year was a small event at a bar called House of Rising in the centre of Amsterdam during ADE when we hooked up with one of the labels we distribute & publish, Bullet:Dodge Records, to put on an eventful evening with Vince Watson, myself and Paris doing a Detroit Grand Pubahs DJ set plus Gareth Whitehead & My Evil Twiin doing a back to back DJ set.

7. When are you going to get a proper job? (Oliverʼs mum)

Oliver: What’s a proper job? I have been doing this music business game now since I was 16 when I started out working in a record shop called Bass Box in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Never done anything else, for me this is not a job, it is a career and lucky enough to have a career in something that is also my passion, music.

8. How has the digital distribution side of EPM developed over the last 10 years?

Melle: When we started out in 2003 the hardest part was to convince old-school labels that digital was here to stay. Most labels just signed with us because they trusted us and because they felt that signing a contract for digital didn’t mean anything anyway. Since then it has become evident that digital is a format that is the future of the music industry. But then, if you ask me again tomorrow I might say the exact opposite. Because this has always been a bit like a rollercoaster ride, what’s true today might not mean anything tomorrow. It has been interesting to see so many different players come to this market since, offering new models. Unfortunately many of these have not made it and left already. That’s what makes for a constant challenge to make the right decisions in which models to fully support and which ones to leave alone. As an independent company we have the big advantage to be flexible and adapt to new scenarios quickly, which I believe is an absolute must when working in such a fast changing market. It is this constant state of flux which has really defined the digital industry over the last ten years. As it continues to evolve so do we as a company and that is one of the biggest challenges we continue to face as new technology and new models come into play.

9. EPM now has a rights management and publishing division. Is this part of a ʻ360 Degreeʼ strategy?

Oliver: Yes, it actually ties in well with the digital distribution since we know the exact figures of online sales so we know how much MCPS the stores would be paying on a label / artist we distribute and publish, we have an inside edge. The radio promotion service we offer ties in perfectly for publishing as the radio plays we get translates to public performance income. Besides that I have carried out a number of sync licenses over the years and it was something I have been thinking about developing as a service at EPM for years. With publishing we can now start to develop this. We already had our first sync with a track by Domgue from Detroit Grand Pubahs titled ‘So Bale’, which was used in a recent episode of CSI: Las Vegas.

10. Please give us your all-time favourite releases from the EPM 10 featured artists.

Alexander Robotnick – ‘Dance Boy Dance’
Detroit Grand Pubahs – ‘Skydive From Venus’
Robert Hood – ‘Nighttime’ (taken from ‘Nighttime World 1’)
Analog Fingerprints / Marco Passarani – ‘I House U’
Marius – ‘Disco Drummer’
Dirt Crew – ‘Rok da House’
Sandwell District – ‘Falling The Same Way (Reality Or Nothing Extended)’
Radioactive Man – ‘Goodnight Morton’
Billy Nasty – ‘The Well Served Event’ (w/ Gregor Tresher)
Mark Broom – ‘Birmingham’ (Rue East)
James Ruskin – ‘The Divide’
Orlando Voorn – ‘Tone Exploitation’ (as Nighttripper)


For more information about EPMʼs digital distribution and other services:
www.epm-music.com/digital-distribution/why-epm.html

Following DJ K-1’s electro/techno self-portrait EPM now brings you a live set of pure, unadulterated house from Robsoul’s Phil Weeks. Recorded live at Rome’s Room 26 the Parisian house maestro gets us in the party mood. As ever with Mr. Weeks at the helm, it’s house music all night long!

DJ/producer Phil Weeks is a house music purist. His mixing is old school Chicago with a nu-school French flare going from the deepest house to techy beats. His production sounds like it could have been released in the 90s partly because he uses the same gear – 808s, 909s, 606s, even vintage keys. He prefers vinyl, likes his mixes dirty, and knows how to rock a crowd with a heavy hitting bass line. Phil Weeks is a house purist dedicated to bringing the world only proper house music with his DJing, producing and his label, Robsoul Recordings.

A true lover of house music, Phil Weeks’ DJ career started 10 years ago. With skills comparable to the best and crowd-pleasing track selection it wasn’t long before he became a major player in the house music scene. He’s played some of the world’s most renowned venues like Queen’s Club, Circus, Ministry of Sound, Back to Basics, and Stereo.

By 2000 he was ready for the next step and Robsoul Recordings was born. Originally the label was meant as an avenue for Phil to release his own tracks the way he wanted to and the success was more than he anticipated. Phil Weeks’ early release ‘It Put Me Well’ became classic in a couple of months and now Phil is one of the worlds most sought after house producers.

It wasn’t long before this success lead to the decision to sign other artists to the label. Consequently Robsoul is now one of the world’s most renowned and respected house music labels featuring some of the world’s best like Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak, Mark Farina, David Duriez, No Assembly Firm, Fries and Bridges (his partnership with Hector Moralez) and Chris Carrier. Releases are selling out in a time when many labels aren’t able to keep afloat. But Phil Weeks’ isn’t one to brag about this. To him it’s all about keeping proper house music alive.


Q&A with Phil Weeks (Robsoul)

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection taken live from Rome’s Room 26. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?

As you mention it, the mix was recorded live. Usually I don’t plan anything, just feel the vibe of the room and do my thing. It’s a mix between all the new promos I received that I love & more old school stuff. That I play on vinyl. Also, testing a lot of my new shit is something always exciting. The party was great, with great people.

2. Since 1999 Robsoul has become a platform for some legendary house figures such as DJ Sneak, Mark Farina, Mike Dunn…as well as breaking new artists over the last 12 years. How does it feel to work with your heroes and also be in a position to help start someone’s musical career?

It feels great but there’s no ego behind all that. I just Love this music and try to give my passion to the new generation that didn’t get the chance to start at the time where House was House. We are a minority.

3. How does a young house music lover from Paris become one of the scene’s key producers/DJs and label runners?

The answer is: with a lot of work, passion & talent. Since 1998 I knew I will be doing that in my life as a living, no matter what. I got that thing for the music, for the scene. I was lucky enough to have a lot of time and I was just doing music nonstop, as soon as I was getting back home. I did my thing alone without the help of anybody, without any connection inside this business…until radio/DJs & the all industry found out about me and my music.

4. As well as DJing all over the world which residencies do you also currently hold and which ones of old were key to your development as a DJ?

Right now, I have my own party “Get Underground” in Paris @ Rex Club (with my partner Didier Allyne, we do also PND label together). Besides that, I don’t hold any other residency even if I usually play some of the same clubs every year. I used to have a residency in Toronto (Boa club then Footwork), on a boat in Paris (Terrassa Party), at Regine (also in Paris), in Germany (Suxul/ Ingolstadt), in South of France (Biarritz)…I’m sure I forget some. I guess they all have been keys but how I don’t really know. I never think about it & right now I’m on smoke… (lol)

5. If you hadn’t discovered house music, what would you be doing now?

I would be probably doing sport (I don’t like sport anymore), play poker or even grow weed. Something Cool!

6. What plans do you have install for Robsoul’s 100th release?

The Robsoul 100 is now out since around a week or so. It’s the third Single “By My Side” from my “Love Affair” album http://youtu.be/RsFD7qQmpL8 With remixes by Hector Moralez, Inland Knights & Gramophonedzie. Just a very Good release.

7. You have just started the ‘Underground Chronicles’ series of tips on youtube. How did the idea come about and what are your plans for the series?

The very first idea of doing a video diary came from my PR/manager (Ian Straker @ Kahua music). The concept was simple, open myself more and more and keep my followers updated on what I’ve been doing/working on. His idea was like a bomb for me (got me very scary) cause I knew it was something I would be able to do but also something that needs a lot of investment & time from me. And I was already very busy! I thought about it for a while then I decided to do it as a new challenge and came up with “Underground Chronicles”. After Episode 1 that was very ghetto, I really enjoyed doing it and a lot of ideas start to come in my mind. I decided then to bring things to the next level. (With scenarios, acting game, tips, and lifestyle). Right now I’m working on Episode 5, which one will features Joss Moog (Paris), an amazing producer & a very close friend also. We will be in his studio; he will give a sick production tip about how doing some nice chords. I will be dress up like on the cover of my “Love Affair LP” with the Gangster suit, just to make it funny & beautiful. Big up to Carson (RTHM) who always does his magic to all the videos (Editing).

8. How is the club scene in Paris at the moment? Is there still a lot of support for house music nights in the capital?

It is very good! Parties always busy & a crowd ready to listen to anything from disco to techno. I’m loving it! Come check our “Get Underground” @ Rex Club It’s Thursday night it’s free & always packed! Next one is December 8th with Fred P.

9. What would be your top tips for finding new and rare house music records in Paris?

I think we should think “worldwide” when it’s time to find rare records. About Paris, You need to go check Syncrophone Records Shop. The team is very friendly, and they’ll hook you up with the best shit (new but also old) They know what they talk about.

10. Please give us your top 5 house classics:

Very difficult as I think there’s a lot of records that have been key for me.
So here are 11: (by year)
Adonis – No Way Back - Trax 1986
Frankie Knuckles – Baby Wants To Ride/Your Love – Trax 1987
KC Flightt - Planet E (Acid Drop Mix) – RCA 1989
DJ Sneak – The Polyester EP – Henri Street 1995
Global Communication – The Way – Dedicated 1996
Romanthony – Let Me Show You Love (Quick Dub) – Azuli 1996
Mood II Swing – Do It Your Way - Groove On 1996
DJ Rasoul – Soul Searching (all volumes) – Large 1998/1999
Moodyman – Shades Of Jae – KDJ 1999
Derrick Carter – Boompty Boomp Theme - Classic 1999
Terrence FM –Feelin Kinda High – Cajual 2002

www.epm-music.com
www.robsoulrecordings.com
www.facebook.com/robsoulrecordings
www.discogs.com/label/robsoul+recordings
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkXCcQmilz4